India versus Sri Lanka. Possibly the most overplayed encounter in the international cricket arena. Since the 2011 World Cup Final, India has had the upper hand in these duels, having won 7 out of 10 ODI’s played.
However, Sri Lanka are a different beast when it comes to semi -finals of major tournaments and India will be aware of this when the two teams clash yet again at Cardiff on Wednesday.
India have been in hot form in this tournament, and have been marked by some as favourites to win the trophy. Having topped their group in the round robin phase, after winning all three matches, they will be fairly confident of themselves. Their main strength is the batting, and they bat extremely deep. However, most of the scoring in the group stage matches was done by their top four of Karthik, Dhawan Kohli and Sharma, with the other batsmen not really being needed. Sri Lanka will look to get early breakthroughs in order to get a crack at the largely untested middle order.
From the bowling front, Ravindra Jadeja has been the most successful for India this series, having picked up 9 wickets at an average under 11. Sri Lanka are generally proficient players of spin, though, and the seamers may be required to step up their game on Wednesday. Umesh Yadav Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are all capable bowlers and Sri Lanka will want to take the attack to them early.
If India are favourites to win the trophy, Sri Lanka could possibly be considered even bigger favourites to come runners-up. Having now reached four World Cup Finals (ODI and T20) without any silverware to show for it, they will be desperate to shake off the tag of perennial bridesmaids in this tournament.
Either outcome requires them to get past the semi-final stage. Semi-finals do not seem to scare them as much, however, as this will be their tenth appearance in a semi-final of a major tournament. Of the previous nine occasions Sri Lanka has won six times and they will be looking to make it seven on Thursday. They will want their youngsters to step up to the plate this time, and take some pressure off the big 3 – Dilshan, Mahela and Sanga who have done the bulk of the scoring for the Lions so far.
For India, Shikhar Dhawan has been the man in form with two centuries already under his belt in this tournament. Sri Lanka however, will remember Virat Kohli, and the ease with which he has tackled Sri Lanka’s strike bowler Lasith Malinga in the recent past. On his day, Kohli can be an unstoppable force, and while Malinga vs Kohli will be a duel to watch out for, Sri Lankan supporters will be hoping that ‘Kohli the Destroyer’ doesn’t make an appearance. Like that is not enough the Mahendra Singh Dhoni rear-guard with cool-composure at any situation will have to be dealt with.
Sri Lanka will hope that young Kusal Perera will be able to rediscover the form he showed in the warm up game, and give them a good start with the bat. Captain Angelo Mathews is another to watch, both for his contribution with bat and ball, and for his tactics on the field. India are a tough opponent and Sri Lanka cannot afford to take thing easy at any stage of the game.
Both teams are unlikely to make any changes to their lineups barring last minute injuries. Sri Lanka may however, be tempted to bring in Thisara Perera or Sachithra Senanayake in place of Shaminda Eranga who has been rather unimpressive so far. It could be argued that pace is a better option as India play spin brilliantly.
The weather at Cardiff is another factor to keep an eye out for. Showers have been forecast for Thursday, and Sri Lanka will hope that they stay away long enough to get a game in, as according to the competition rules, India will progress to the finals in case of a washed out affair. Sri Lanka have only played once before at the Sophia Gardens Grounds, in their group stage defeat to New Zealand. India also have little experience at the ground having only played 2 ODIs (1 win 1 loss) In the 14 ODIs played at this venue, seamers have dominated proceedings, having taken 117 wickets as opposed to 28 by spinners. Sri Lanka may prefer a green pitch, as their seam bowlers are likely to perform better than India who have depended mostly on spin in this series. The toss will be crucial as there is a strong chance that Duckworth and Lewis will come into play at some stage of the game.
Thursday, June 20 – Start time 1030 (0930 GMT)
